NEW ZEALAND - The New Zealand Rock Lobster Industry Council has praised the National Party pledge to spend NZ$100 million over 10 years to buy and retire farmland next to waterways to provide a buffer and improve water quality.

The pledge was made by Prime Minister John Key in Southland.

Rock Lobster Executive Officer Daryl Sykes says the National Party pledge represents an appropriate recognition of the quality and integrity of private property rights and invokes market mechanisms to resolve concerns about the natural environment.

“As such, the pledge sets a useful precedent for resolving similar concerns across marine aquatic environments, and the rock lobster industry looks forward to working with the Prime Minister to institute similar policy for marine conservation,” he says.